ImmorTaliTea from Cup of Love

Black Tea, Orange Pieces, Blackberry Leaves, Safflower Petals, Lemon Balm Leaves, Strawberry Pieces, Calendula Petals, Sunflower Petals, Elderberry Pieces, Raisin Bits, Hibiscus Peals, Apple Pieces, Rosehip Bits, Passion Fruit Pieces, Kiwi Pieces, Raspberry Pieces, Rose Petals, Cornflower Petals, & Peppermint are the ingredients that went into ImmorTaliTea from Cup of Love.  Therefore a LOT of time and effort went into this flavor combination!

It has a nice balance of fruity, spicy, mint, sweet, and sour!  The black tea base is NOT over the top darker than dark or stronger than strong but it leaves enough room for the other ingredients to come out and play!  I mean take a look at the FRUIT in this tea!  Orange, Strawberry, Elderberry, Raisin, Apple, Passion Fruit, Kiwi,  and Raspberry!  YUM!

Then for the herbal side of things you will notice in both aroma and taste the Blackberry Leaves, Lemon Balm, and Peppermint!  Refreshing!

Let’s NOT forget the the floral side of things…Safflower, Calendula, Sunflower, Rose, and Cornflower.  Fine and Fragrant!

But the amazement doesn’t stop there!  There is the tart of the Hibiscus and Rosehip Bits that tickle your taste buds, too!  There is a LOT going on but each and ever ingredient plays its part here!

I prefer this one cold but it’s pretty tasty hot, too!  ImmorTaliTea from Cup is one of those teas that will certainly keep you guessing!

 


Here’s the scoop!

Leaf Type: Black Tea
Where to Buy: Cup of Love
Description:

Black Tea, Orange Pieces, Blackberry Leaves, Safflower Petals, Lemon Balm Leaves, Strawberry Pieces, Calendula

Petals, Sunflower Petals, Elderberry Pieces, Raisin Bits, Hibiscus Peals, Apple Pieces, Rosehip Bits, Passion Fruit

Pieces, Kiwi Pieces, Raspberry Pieces, Rose Petals, Cornflower Petals, & Peppermint

Learn even more about this tea and tea company here!

Tomato Lime Cocktail Herbal Tea from Teavana

TomatoLime CocktailTea Information:

Leaf Type:  Herbal Tisane

Where to Buy: Teavana

Tea Description:

Well-balanced sweet and savory blend of tomato, lime, hibiscus, carrot and celery with a hint of chili heat finish.  A modern twist on the brunch classic, this Bloody Mary inspired herbal tea is garden fresh and fabulously flavorful. Rich and sweet sun dried tomato, celery, beetroot, carrot, apple, plum and raisins get a quiet-heat and citrus kick from pieces of chili, lime, orange and cinnamon in this haute tea that is fashionably and refreshingly cool.

Ingredients:Apple pieces, tomato pieces, hibiscus blossoms, raisins, beetroot pieces, cinnamon, carrot pieces, natural and artificial flavoring, orange pieces, lime pieces, rose blossom leaves, plum pieces (plum, rice flour), celery pieces, chili pieces

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

I know there area a lot of different opinions when it comes to Teavana.  My general feelings are that I think they tend to cater to the fruitier and tarty/sweet flavored tastes more than anything.  I have found most of the teas I have tried from Teavana to be TOO sweet and/or tarty for my liking but that hasn’t stopped me from trying some of their offerings at least once.  I think the reason they are over flavored and sweet or tarty is because they over use Hibiscus which is something I don’t like.  I’m not a big Hibiscus fan, overall.

Having said that…I wanted to try their Tomato Lime Cocktail Herbal Tea just because it sounded interesting.  Again, I think they used too much hibiscus.  BUT…looking around that…here’s what I thought about this tea from Teavana…it wasn’t bad.  The aroma – once infused – was a combination of tomato soup and hibiscus.  The color was a deep purple.

I don’t know if I would agree with the product description saying that this blend of flavors was well balanced due to the high tart flavor it has but I appreciate the ingredients they did use in this otherwise.  Up front you can certainly taste the apple, tomato, and hibiscus.  2nd sip I noticed the carrot, orange, lime, and celery.  It was the end sips that I noticed the plum/raisin notes.  And in the after taste the chili and cinnamon were present.

I’m thinking they used the beetroot to enhance the color and not-so-much the flavor.  And I have no idea why they added rose blossom leaves in there…maybe for the look of the dry blend to the eye, maybe.

I wasn’t happy with this when I was sipping on it SUPER HOT…only because of my dislike of Hibiscus…it was just way too tart for a hot tea (for me).  After letting it cool for about 7 minutes I enjoyed it much better.  I also think at a little warmer than ‘luke warm’ makes this cup fairly tasty!  Overall – I think this was a good flavor attempt and offering by Teavana.  I did like that hint of spicy kick at the end of the sip, too.  I liked that it didn’t get too out of hand – as well.  The company did do several things RIGHT with this combination of flavors – I just wish they would pull back on that hibiscus!

I’m fairly certain that another company could use less hibiscus and pair it with a black tea base or maybe even a green and create something really amazing!  But if you are into really unique flavors and offerings and want to try something off the wall – try this one!

 

Cinnamon Apple Crunch from Steep City Teas

Cinnamon Apple Crunch from Steep City Teas
Cinnamon Apple Crunch from Steep City Teas

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Green

Where to Buy: Steep City Teas

Tea Description:

Wonderfully tasty! This green tea blend will bring back memories of your favorite apple pie, sweet and warm with a cinnamon crunchy texture. The perfect tea cup for kids and grownups. It is perfect for a tea party, tea in the afternoon or as a special drink for the holidays!

Green tea, apple pieces, natural flavors, cinnamon pieces, safflower, and rose petals

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Cinnamon Apple Crunch from Steep City Teas is a nice departure from the norm. It has a light summer time apple flavor with just a light enough floral undertone to make you feel like laying back in the green summer grass and catching some rays! The cinnamon is subtle and I like that. I love a little cinnamon in tea but often times the cinnamon can take over a blend, diluting the other lovely ingredients.

While this could surely be a lovely holiday time drink, with its apple pie flavor and sweetness, I actually prefer it more in the summer as an iced tea. The sencha base adds a wonderful buttery flavor and mouthfeel which absolutely support the flavors in this blend. I feel that it adds to that “crunch” flavor. It reminds me of that crumble on top of an apple strudel. I love that oversteeping this tea is nearly impossible even with the green tea base. Trust me, I gave this tea a good test in that area, by error of course, but even when steeped for a good long 7 minutes it was still amazing!

Wether you enjoy it warm, or cold, you will appreciate the versatility of this scrumptious blend. I also agree that people of all ages will enjoy this tea. It is not too sweet but just sweet enough, naturally, so that the kids will enjoy it. Speaking of naturally, there is no a bit of artificial flavor to this tea. It tastes like fresh juicy apple, not some nasty artificial flavoring. The floral note comes from real rose petals, not a perfumery substance that imparts bad flavor in the tea.Another winner from Steep City, but then every tea I have sampled from them has been delightful!

Blood Orange Tisane from Chai Diaries

blood-orange

Tisane Information:

Leaf Type:  Fruit/Herbal Tisane

Where to Buy:  Chai Diaries

Tisane Description:

The first thing you’ll notice about this holiday blend is the color: a vibrant amaranth red that grabs you by the lapels and demands your attention. Then the aroma: enticing vanilla, sophisticated orange peel, hints of rose and lemon all tangle for a share of the stage in this bold elixir. Finally, the first divine sip.

Learn more about this tisane here.

Taster’s Review:

I have to disagree with the above description … the first thing I noticed about this Blood Orange Tisane from Chai Diaries is not the color.  What I noticed is that this is not a one with an overload of hibiscus!  Yes, there is hibiscus in it, but, after steeping for six minutes, the tisane is not heavy, thick or syrupy the way a tisane with too much hibiscus would be.

The fact that the hibiscus is not overdone gets bonus points from this reviewer … because as you are probably aware (if you’ve read very many of my tisane reviews!) I don’t like hibiscus!  In small amounts, hibiscus can be beneficial to a tisane.  It adds a little bit of body and color to the brewed cup, as well as a distinct flavor – tartness! – not to mention significant health benefits.  But too much hibiscus can mean a very tart, syrup-like thickness to the brewed tisane.  Not very appealing, at least, not to me!

This tisane, on the other hand, is very appealing because the hibiscus is done the right way … as are the other components to this tisane.  It is sweet with enough tartness to keep it interesting.  The vanilla in this adds a very enjoyable creamy note to the cup, tasting a bit like a one of those creamsicle frozen treats!

While it is good served hot, I found that I preferred it iced!  I recommend brewing it stronger when you want this one iced, because the flavor softens a bit as it cools.  And brewing it stronger means adding more dry leaf to the teapot … not steeping it longer.  Keep the steep time to 5 – 7 minutes to minimize the hibiscus’s impact on the final product.

This is sweet enough that it doesn’t need any sweetener – and this would be a fantastic alternative to overly sugared sodas for the kids (and adults!) in the summer!

Turkish Green Apple from Red Leaf Tea

Turkish Green Apple from Red Leaf Tea
Turkish Green Apple from Red Leaf Tea

Tea Information:

Leaf Type: Green

Where to Buy: Red Leaf Tea

Tea Description:

This Turkish version of green tea, though delicate, features cured apple pieces and safflowers into a delicious tea blend. Our growers are able to customize the curing of their harvests and add a wide variety of flavors to their stronger blends. For tea lovers, blends such as Turkish Green Apple Tea is full of great tea taste from the first sip to the very last.

Green tea, apple pieces, and safflowers with apple flavor.

Learn more about this tea here.

Taster’s Review:

Turkish Green Apple from Red Leaf Tea is a very light flavored tea with apples being only a slight flavor in the overall profile. It tastes more of buttered spinach and has a slight salty taste as well. The apples taste to be semi fermented in a sense, as they taste in a hard apple cider yet in this blend very delicate and only a slight bit tart.

This is a soothing tea that is very delicate in its nature, calming and relaxing. I would not want this in the morning but is a wonderful tea to sip while laying in bed decompressing and reading a favorite novel.

If you want that more robust flavor be sure to wait and allow the tea to cool more before sipping as this tea tends to take on its stronger characteristics as it becomes more room temperature, even the mouthfeel becomes heavier as it cools a bit.

There is a creaminess to the mouthfeel, and even a slight cream flavor. Buttery, creamed, spinach with an apple appeal. Haha, get it?